a little boy is rescued from an underground bunker but this morning so many unanswered questions. >> how many hours a day do you sit in traffic? a new study takes a closer look at how the d.c. roaming on measures up to the rest of the nation -- how the d.c. region she sures -- measures up to the rest of the nation. >> fox 5 morning news continues right now. good morning. it is straight up 6:00 on this

tuesday morning, february 5th, 2013. taking a live look at the u.s. capitol dome this morning. another chilly start to your day. i guess you could say cold for the most part. good morning. i'm sarah simmons. >> i'm wisdom martin. right off the top, we want to talk about some of the issues in regards to the weather. a few school delays to tell you about. >> in maryland, garrett county public schools or a two-hour delay n west virginia, grant, hampshire and morgan county schools are all delayed two hours. >> no snow fell close to d.c. or up in baltimore where in just a few hours, the super bowl champion ravens will take a victory lap around charm city. there is tucker barnes. >> how is it going up there? >> it is great. i do want to tell everybody, heads up here, it is cold outside this morning. temperatures have fallen back into the low to mid-30s. so i'm here at baltimore city hall. big celebration scheduled to tart at 10:45 this morning. they will have a big parade

through the city. it will wind down through the inare harbor and eventually wine up at m & t stadium. they are encouraging everybody who is a ravens fan to come out. it is a free celebration. you get to see the players and coach. a lot to look forward to this morning. very quiet out here now. the event kick off here at baltimore city hall and again at 10:45, we are expecting to hear from the mayor of baltimore and maybe a few other dignitaries before the celebrations kick off. let's tuck weather real quick. i mentioned the coal temperatures. can't feel the fingers or toes. make sure you have gloves if you are out and about. when i left d.c., we had partial clearing. the flurry activity of the light snow we expected last night, most of that stayed to the north and we are expecting a d.c. the day today. possibly in the mid-40s. right now at reagan national, we've kicked it up to 36

degrees. 36 at reagan national. 32 right now in dulles. 33 at bwi marshall. very cold temperatures. excuse me, d.c. is 35. not expecting any rain and or snow. should be a nice, quiet day. satellite-radar, you can see the cloud cover continuing to move across the area. yet another clip are system. that one will get to the north appear -- and east of us during the day today. later on tonight, yet another clipper system that. could bring us a few flurries later tonight as temperatures will fall back. here is a look at your day planner. partial sunshine, temperatures topping out in the 40s. want to encourage everybody to come down here. we'll be here all morning. can't wait to get to julie wright who knows how to do some celebrating what's up? >> everything but the temperatures. southbound on the baltimore- washington parkway, the crew in sky fox with us as promised and again, traffic right here at i- 195 squeezing by the accident

scene single file to the left. delays are starting to back up leaving 695. now is anot a bad time to go. lanes are open. no problems to report on the bw parkway or over on 295. this happens to be the southbound stretch of the highway with more police responding to this crash. delays leaving 695 headed southbound out towards i-195. accident activity in play with only the left lane getting through. we'll show you what else is happening out on the roads. southbound 270 now starting to see the backup aprovenning the monday asksy. traffic throws again before and after 109. you will find lanes are open. suitland parkway to south capital street but we are checking for the crash on the suitland parkway near route 5 branch avenue. no other problems reported on 359 leaving the beltway for the 14th street bridge. that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. e traffic. you know the d.c. region is number one again when it comes to traffic congestion in the u.s. >> julie wright knows a little bit about that, don't you? keeps you employed. what can be done to help ease

some of the gridlock out there. melanie a.-- alnwick has the story. >> all the experts are saying it's multimodal approach. it is not just new construction or better traffic management t requires a whole host of st. louiss and each one is different to the individual areas. now, the texas transportation institute does this study every single year. they've added a new factor this year which they call the freeway planning time index. we all do this. we all know it has to do with how much time do you have to give yourself to get to where you need to be in you want to be there on time. and so they say in the d.c. area, we also rank number one in this, good news there, right? people who need to be to a particular appointment or lets a say a show or that sort of thing, three hours is the cushion time they say that most d.c. drivers need to give themselves to make sure they are on time for an important event 100% of the time.

let's take a look at how washington, d.c. stacked up with the other big cities. we are number one. but we're in good company with los angeles, san francisco, new york and boston. d.c. has ranked number one in that peak auto commuter delay for the fourth ear in a row. that is 67 hours lost per year sitting in traffic. losangeles and san francisco though not far behind at 61. so everybody in the top five pretty much really in the same boat. here in d.c., our transportation system is congested 85% of the time. rush hour now lasts seven hours. the cost in lost time and wasted fuel here in d.c., $1398 per auto commuter per year. as we know, this region has undertaken some improvements like the intercounty connector. we also have the express lanes in virginia as well.

those things are small improvements. we know transportation is at the top of the agenda in both the maryland and virginia legislatures this yearen all of this, of course, come with a cost. back to you. a news alert now out of montgomery county. police in takoma park need help in finding a missing 12-year- old boy. he was last seen around 7:20 last night. he left his father a note telling him he was running away and could be found at the library. he is three feet tall, 100 pounds and has a scar on his stomach and left arm. d left ar a 5-year-old boy is back safe with his parent after being held captive for nearly a week. the fbi stormed an underground bunker after spotting the suspect believing that the child was in danger. in the end, the boy was rescued and dykes was killed during the raid. investigator are not saying whether it was law enforcement officials who shot him or he took his own life. the little boy was taken to an area hospital with his family.

>> i have been to the hospital and visited with ethan. he is doing fine. he is laughing, joking, playing, eating, things you would expect a normal 5 to 6- year-old young man to do. >> ethan turns six years old tomorrow. still ahead, a big announcement on capitol hill today. a bipartisan gun control bill. who is behind it and what it calls for. >> and not even two months after the newtown tragedy, plans for a movie about the massacre is taking shape in a nearby town. what the residents there have to say about it. we'll tell you all about it when we come back. ♪ [ female announcer ] at yoplait, we want you to feel even better about your favorite flavors.

so when you call, tweet, and post, we listen. that's why yoplait light and yoplait original are now made with no high fructose corn syrup. and why we use only natural colors and natural flavors in yoplait original. so, anything else we can do for you, let us know. but you'll keep it to yogurt, right? 'cause we shouldn't really help with your love life. yoplait. it is so good! we gotta sell the car. where would we e even start? get the car. hi howard. get in. hi, good to see you. start with an actual written offer when selling your car, no strings attached. carmax. start here. so i used my citi thankyou card to pick up some accessories.

a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? and with all the points i've been earning, i was able to get us a flight to our favorite climbing spot, even on a holiday weekend. ♪ things are definitely... looking up. [ male announcer ] with no blackout dates, you can use your citi thankyou points to travel whenever you want. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! ♪ wow. [ buzz ] delicious, right? yeah. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... ♪ well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? bee happy. bee healthy. with clusters of flakes and o's. oh, ho ho... it's the honey sweetness. i...i mean, you...love.

a judge could decide today who to delay george zimmerman's murder trial at the request of his lawyers. the hearing comes on what would have been trayvon martin's 18th birthday. attorneys for zimmerman say they need more time to prepare. it has been near had a year

since the neighborhood watch man claims he shot and killed martin in self-defense. martin's parents plan to mark their son's births day in south florida. south a day after president barack obama took his gun control message to the road to minneapolis, today, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will unveil their plan. four representatives including maryland's elijah cummings and virginia's scott riggle are behind a bill that cracks down on gun trafficking and the people who buy guns for convicted criminals known as so- called gun straw purchases. bill would make it a federal crime and impose new penalties. the. a movie director is scouting out a town near newtown to shoot i movie about the sandy hook elementary school massacre. many people living in ridgefield, connecticut are not happy with the flan. >> i think it is way too soon to be making a film for the tragedy. >> i feel like it is time for everybody to back off and leave

them alone. >> with the town gets the prog being, officials say permits will be very hard to secure. -- with the town against the project, officials say permits will be very hard to secure. a new home away from home for our nation's wounded warriors. we'll take a closer look when we come back. 

tell me about this guy ray lewis. what's his deal? >> well, half the time, i don't know but -- >> and why wouldn't you? >> but come sunday and he has been doing it for 17 years. come something, he is something special. a great teammate through the week. >> joe flacco got a few laughs during the late show with david

letterman last night. flacco also talked about the tea sire to sign a new contract with the rav an and how he would like to be with the team his entire career. >> i'm sure they would like him to be as well. they will make it worth his time. >> it will be payday pretty soon no joe flacco. money won't be an issue. >> hopefully, weather won't be an issue up this in baltimore today. tucker barnes is standing by live out there because the big parade is going to be happen nation few hours and tucker, i actually hear that maybe you should get your own float because it is national weather persons day. did you know that? >> that is huge, sarah. >> i know. >> and in years past, julie has brought me a cake so hopefully, she'll step it up this year. have i to practice my ray lewis dance to try to stay warm out here. >> go ahead. >> i'll show it to you later, not now. we have the official parade this morning at 10:45. is it starts here in baltimore city hall where they are

expecting a big crowd. and the rallies last week, they had between about 7,000 and 10,000 people. they are expecting a much bigger crowd than that. it starts here at city hall, wind down across the city harbor and ends up at m & t bank. it should be a great victory celebration. the whole city still in purple. the city of baltimore and the state of maryland very proud of the ravens second super bowl victory this time around. we'll be here all morning. please come down and join us. all the events are free. we're looking forward to seeing joe flacco. let's do some weather. let me mention, it is cold. if you are headed down here or if you are going to be out identify run, dog walk, kids going to school, be ready for a cold morning. temperatures in the mid-30s. we are 35 at reagan national and low 30s at both dulles and bwi marshall. dulles reporting a temperature of 32.

very chilly temperatures. didn't see a whole lot in the way of snow during the overnight hours. might see a little more off to the north and west. of a been hearing you guys say there are a few school delays. that was really the worst of t locally, just a couple of flurries. still got a lot of clouds out here. -- that was really the worst of it. once we get the sunshine in here, we should warm temperatures up into the middle 40s so not a bad looking day. here is your forecast for today. partial sunshine, we'll go with 45. but if we get enough sun, we might push it into the upper 40s in a few spots particularly south of town actual us -- as you get down into central virginia. another clipper arrives tonight. perhaps a few flurries later tonight. not expecting a lot in the way of accumulation. in account fa, none at all. notice the warmer temperatures. 40s around here for the

remainder of the week. i want to mention thursday night into early friday, we could do a period of proposen rain, transitioning to rain during the day on friday. but that is our next area of concern as far as frozen precip. that is the latest look from here in baltimore. we'll do celebrating all morning as the ravens are expected to arrive here at city hall at 10:45 in the morning. let's get to julie wright with the latest on traffic. national weather person's day. step it up. >> you get a cake when it is 85, not 35. >> oh, come organization julie. it's february. what do you want me to do here? >> i hay cake but wisdom ate it. i swear. >> that i believe. have-- i had a cake but wisdom ate it. >> accident activity on i-195. left lane is almost getting by. northbound, you are good to go, no issues reported for those continuing out towards 695 coming in from laurel. let's continue with the cameras. we'll show you what else is happening out here on the

roads. suitland parkway inbound at route other checking for the crash. southbound 270 below speed just south of 109. no issues reported through germantown. that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. e traffic. coming up next, we'll go live to fox business network in new york for a check. markets an a look ahead at today. >> you know, also in addition to national weather person's day -- >> i like this day better. >> this is a great day because just in time for breakfast, ihop is celebrating national pancake day with free flap jacks. the restaurant chain hopes a complimentary short stack will encourage you to make a voluntary donation. funds in our area will go to the leukemia and lymphoma society. this year's goal is to raise $3 million nationwide. can you get your free pancakes

starting from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 tonight. >> i know where air going after the show. >> i'm going to try to get them delivered here. we'll be right back s done, sandwich on your terms with any of dunkin's freshly made bakery sandwiches for just $2.99. america runs on dunkin'.

fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] over a third of a day's fiber. fiber one. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate. ♪ we, we chocolate cross over. ♪ yeah, we chocolate cross over. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing fiber one 80 calorie chocolate cereal. ♪ chocolate.

nope, no. sorry, love to but can't. i'm sorry, she's very busy. enjoy the rich taste of dunkin' mocha lattes and coffees. now in dark chocolate. indulge in one today. america runs on dunkin'.

on wall street, first a milestone and then a meltdown. the federal government is cracking down on the s&p. lauren simonetti with fox business network is live in new york with this morning's business beat. good morning. >> good morning. >> we continue the roller coaster ride on wall street. what is had add today? >> you know, we had a fantastic run-up. we saw 14,000 but that celebration of that key level for the dow didn't last long at all, did it? the dow down 130 points yesterday. that was the worst decline of the year, just about 1%. the nasdaq and s&p gave up more than 1%. it was a pretty big selloff. lots of folk on wall street saying look, this is expected. you have to come down a little bit. we ran up so much so soon, you

need some breathing room. that is what we're getting. we have futures higher slightly. the dow is up about 13 points now in the premarket. no econ on tap today. it's quiet week no not quiet for the department of justice which is calling out stan arrested & poors over financial crisis. talk a little bit about that. >> standard & poor's, one. the three major rating agencies, they say the u.s. government has told them it plans to file civil charges against them for the with a it rated certainly securities in 2007. this is before the financial crisis in 2008. so, of course, they say that the information that the government has is wrong and factually incorrect. but it would be the first action taken by the government against a rating agency of this type. so this is a big deal. and the owner, the company of

that seasons s&p's mcgraw hill and hair share price tumbled about 14%. it sent a lot of the other ratings agencies down as well. >> continuing the rocky ride. thank you so much. we'll see you tomorrow. >> all right. still ahead, we are gearing up for the ravens' victory parade. tucker barnes is live in downtown baltimore with a preview for us. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant

welcome back to fox 5 morning news. beyonce is one powerful performer but not powerful enough to zap the power. the nfl and the manager of the superdome says the half time show had nothing to do with the super bowl blackout. beyonce's crew used its own generator and stadium officials say the superdome was not drawing any more power than it does during a normal saints

game. gardiner furniture in baltimore offered buyers from january 31st through game day this deal. if the ravens return a kick a touchdown, the furniture would be free and guess what, thanks to jacobi jones' 10 # yard return, gardiner's will be giving way about $600,000 in furniture. the owners were smart enough to buy insurance on that deal. ments a good thing. >> man, i wish i had gotten in on that. >> you could have gotten some bedroom furniture. >> i could have done my whole house. >> let's go to baltimore to check in with tucker barnes who is standing by ready for the big parade happening later on this morning. >> good morning. yeah, big deal down here at 10:45 this morning. the second celebration in ravens history for the super bowl victory. it kicks off here at baltimore's city hall. if you haven't been down to baltimore in the past couple of weeks, the whole city has turned purple. not only is everybody dressed in purple, all the buildings are shoulded in purple lights.

i don't know if you can see the purple lights that continue to gleam very proudly there and the buildings as well still in purple. just about everywhere you go, there is a lot of ravens pride in the city as everybody is so excited about the team and, of course about the super bowl victory. the parade starts here at city hall and wind down to m & t bank stadium by about 12:30 this afternoon. lots more on the parade coming up. we'll talk to some fans that have already arrived coming up in a few minutes. let's do some weather. i was going to say traffic. we'll let julie do that. temperatures right now, it is cold. it is in the 30s. 35 at reagan national. we're 33 at bwi marshall and 32 degrees at dulles. the snow didn't really materialize last night and that is probably a good thing for your morning commute as most of the accumulating snow well off to the north and west. still dealing with some clouds here early this morning in baltimore. a little bit more in the way of clearing down in washington. i think the further south you get the more sunshine you will

see early today. it should be a partly sunny day. you can see on our satellite- radar, the clouds rolling through with our latest clipper system. later this afternoon and tonight, more clouds and the possibility of even a few more flurries as our next clipper system comes in but it is not going to have a lot of moisture to work with. we are not looking at a moisturor event by any means. here is your day planner, starting off the day cold with temperatures in the mid-30s. it will warm up with highs expected in the mid- to upper 40s. so not a bad looking afternoon. a few flurries tonight. lots more coming from baltimore all morning long. we'll talk to fans coming up in a few minutes. wisdom and care arc going to toss it back to you guys. >> all right. thank you so much. >> -- wisdom and sarah, going to toss it back to you guys. >> it doesn't look as purple as i thought it would be today. tucker needs to have some purple on. >> let's check in with traffic now. now.

>> if you are traveling southbound on the bw parkway, this is where we had the crash at i-195. it is now confined over to the shuler so two lanes main tined headed south. delays stacking up leaving 695 headed south. no issues reported now out of laurel headed up to the baltimore beltway. we'll continue now with our cameras. southbound 270 definitely below speed from 58 to the monocacy river. traffic will slow again as you work your way out of germantown leaving 118 and 117 out of gaithersburg headed out towards 124. traffic on the outer loop of the beltway below speed leaving university boulevard to georgia avenue and now out to the west on 66. heavy volume flu manassas and leaving 286, the fairfax county parkway trying to get to 123. -- heavy volume through manassas. now for a check of the stop stories, a 5-year-old alabama boy is reunited with his family after being held hostage for nearly a week. officials stormed the bunker

where the boy identified only as ethan, was being held by 56- year-old jimmy lee dykes after they had beened his safety was at risk. dykes was killed in the raid but it is unclear if police shot him or if he shot himself. in virginia now, a brazen smash and grab at a local jewelry store all caught on tape. take a look at this. four masked men walked into zale's jewelry store at the pentagon city mall. the men smashed adisplea case and took off with 27 diamond rings worth more than $120,000. dog lovers will be rallying in annapolis today. we are trying to change the maryland law that singles out pit bulls as an inherently dangerous breed. a state senate committee will hear a new bill today that would ease the court of appeals ruling last year that held pit bull owners and landlords to strict standards. it would let defendants have a chaps to court to try to prove

the dog was not dangerous. a push tomorrow prove the city's health care. phil mendelsohn will propose a bill that, for passed would mandate a nurse to patient ratio. yesterday, supporters packed the d.c. council chambers and they say the bill is necessary to combat a growing problem of fewer nurses and more patients in hospitals. d.c. mayor vincent gray will deliver his state of the district tonight. he is expected to lay out the current status of the city and outline his plans for 2013. the mayor says the surplus will go into savings. o savings. morning line time. >> you no he who that is? -- you know who that is? >> the white stripes. >> what is it?

>> i don't note name of the song. >> the seven nation army. >> did you make the coffee this morning or did sarah? >> what difference does it make. >> if she made it, i'm going to drink it. >> i made it. >> no coffee for me. >> when you don't have chris paul who does the lobbing. >> and blake griffin is walking out. >> it is not lob city anymore. no bradley beal though. even they we didn't have bradley, they didn't have cp3. >> they're still supposed to win. >> watch singleton on the follow. >> two people tried to dunk that. who gets cede feat that? >> chris singleton does. >> you weren't impressed by

this dunk by onwall. the reason why i like it, left handed. no love. >> i'm not hating. >> i don't like when you do that, you sure your hips. the wizards have beaten four division leaders. how does that happen? they've won nine games at home. that is pretty good. randy whitman talking about how good the team can be. listen up, wisdom martin. >> we can compete. that is the main thing if we play the right way. again, we don't have the guy that is going to get us 40. sometimes we play like we do. and we got to understand that. mismatches, who's hot, those all play into it and sometimes we just go out and play. >> i've heard some reports from you from the gym that you are the guy that thinks he can get 40. we don't have that guy. so you got to play within

yourself. that is what randy whitman is telling the guys. you picking up what i'm putting down? >> yeah. tucker is up there getting ride for the big parade today. could you write a better ending to the ray lewis movie. if you wrote the script in hollywood, they would say no way. come on, two super bowl championships for ray. yom cog back from an injury. >> first hall of famer. when he made his announcement in early january that he wasn't coming back, do you think that really did fuel this run? >> you know what? it sounds like a great story. i don't think it did. >> really? >> i don't think that stuff -- i think people are motivated by different thicks. i think that is just a good thing for the media to talk about. >> okay. >> i know what is motivating him. >> joe flacco -- >> all about the benjamins. >> greenbacks. >> if you could have anybody's job, wouldn't it be to be the

agent for joe flacco. >> he rolled the dice. they could have signed an extension before the year start and they didn't. he flows 11 touch downpasses with no picks in the playoffs. a big gamble but they came up big time. >> is he appear elite quarterback? >> they're going to pay him like that. >> he is the super bowl mvp. >> can't take it any more, and i wish you would start making the coffee. >> i will take that task o. are you saying it is weak or too strong? >> i'm just saying with wisdom, it is dangerous is what it is. >> all right, dave. i can do t. coming up, get ready to put the pedal to the metal. a new speed limit is about to take effect on a local toll road. we'll check in with tucker

barnes who is is waiting for the ravens victory parade to kick off later on this morning. almost tastes like one of jack's cereals.

fiber one. uh, forgot jack's cereal. [ jack ] what's for breakfast? um... try the number one! yeah, this is pretty good. [ male announcer ] over a third of a day's fiber. fiber one.

♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate. ♪ shimmy, shimmy chocolate. ♪ we, we chocolate cross over. ♪ yeah, we chocolate cross over. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing fiber one 80 calorie chocolate cereal. ♪ chocolate.

sit the new secretary of state is warning north korea not to carry out any nuclear tests. john kerry spoke with his counterpart in south korea by phone and the two agreed to make sure the north is punished if it goes ahead with the test. south korea officials say a nuclear test is, quote, imminent and also believes the north is preparing two separate nuclear tests in the coming days. pakistan is planning to put a park in the town where osama bin laden was killed. the government is going to start building a recreational complex including a zoo and paragliding club. one lawmaker there says he hopes the new park will improve the image. u.s. commandos killed the founder of al-qaeda in 2011. all right. it is weather time. >> yes, it is. >> and guess who is standing out in the cold up in

baltimore. >> tucker barnes. i saw you doing a little dance there. >> do the dance, tucker. >> i'm working on ray lewis' dance. >> go ahead and show it. >> i'm not ready. we'll hold off a little bit. all right. i'm up here this morning celebrating the ravens big victory on sunday. they will have a big tell biotechnology industry organization starting with a parade at 10:45 this morning starting at baltimore city hall and going to wind down in front of the water front and out to m & t bank stadium at 12:30. the players and coaches, we're hoping to hear them talk a little bit. joe flacco will be down here as well. and everybody very excited. people just starting to arrive. lots of media here from all over country to follow the

celebration. should be a big day. i mention the cold temperatures. we have temperatures in the 30s, low 30s no most of the airports. reagan national, reporting a tempt of 35. looking at the satellite-radar, not a lot to talk about. we did have another clipper come through last night. we've gotten used to these. this one dropped a few flurries but not much of an event. we didn't get much of a coating across the area. with the exception of a five us well off to the north and west, not much to talk about. waking up now, the sun is not up yet. there should be breaks in the clouds by mid-morning and a decent and slightly warmer afternoon with highs expected to be in the mid-40s. let's take a look at the jet stream and we continue to be under the influence of some unseasonably cold air.

as we get into friday and the weekend be we'll be in for i nice warm-up. temperatures by sunday and monday will be back well into the 50s. so if julie wright you are listening, you want some warmer air, hang in there. we have it in the seven-day forecast. here is today's forecast. we'll go officially 45 with partial sunshine. should be a nice looking day. clipper arrives later tonight. that could give us yet another round of light snow flurries. not expecting any accumulating snow with that. you can see that warm-up on the seven-day forecast with temperatures by sunday and monday back into the 50s. that is latest from downtown baltimore. again, this event absolutely free. they want to encourage everybody to come down and celebrate with the city of baltimore, the state of maryland and the baltimore ravens super bowl victory on sunday. waydom, sarah and tony back to you. quick quiz. do you remember what the big theme song was when the ravens won the super bowl 12 years ago? >> no.

>> i have no idea. >> no idea? >> ain't no stopping us now. >> no, who let the dogs out? >> he loves that song. >> thank you. good morning. hello gwen, how are you? >> tucker is out. he is busy so we've enlisted your help for this edition of ask tony and tucker. today is ask tony and gwen. this is our segment where we answer your most pressing questions weather-related or otherwise. today's question comes from nicole b in warrenton, virginia. nicole wants to know, how it is that frozen foods thaw out faster in cold water rather than hot water. >> i didn't know that.

>> well, she is asking this question because we are always told if you are going to thaw out your food in water, you put it in cold water as opposed to hot water. it is not because it thaws out faster in cold water. we are told that for safety reasons. so it is not that it is faster. it is not faster. in fact, it takes longer but it is for safety reasons. thawing is a very -- we do it all the time. there are various ways to thaw things correctly. it is really a -- it is kind of a dicey thing that we do because it is all about safety and protecting the food from having bacteria begin for form on t you have to thaw at the proper rate and in the proper way. if you have not allowed your food to thaw over a long period of time, the best thing to do is to plan ahead. unfortunately, people always forget. they don't plan ahead. take it out of the freeze arer, put it in the refrigerator and let it thaw. now, depending on what it is

you are trying to thaw out, this could take a such days if it is like a big turkey or something like that. so you have to plan ahead. you can take the item, put it in a sealed plastic bag and submerge it i don't your sink in cold tap water. i believe it is --ic it is -- you're supposed to thaw, cold water thawing, three to four pound package may take two to three hours. so you want to put it into the cold tap water, change the water every 30 minutes or so because the water will warm up. and you have to allow time. if it is about a popped of food, it should take an hour or less but the more -- the bigger the food item the longer that process will take. you don't do it under hot water because some of that -- say it is meat which is what most people are thawing, it will

start to warm up too quickly and then the bacteria can form. as soon as it starts to get like over 40 degrees or so, bacteria can start to form and multiply so you want to avoid that. >> that is the same thing with the microwave. a lot of people want to throw it in there. it is the same thing that tony is pointing out. what happens is some of of the it on the inside could start to cook i little bit and you are handling it with your hands and bacteria can form so it can be a bit of a danger. the other thing they say it is not safe and some people do this is throw the cold meat from the refrigerator into the garage or on the porch or balcony where it is cold. just because it is cold outside, you might think it is the same thing as putting it in the cold water. they say that is not safe as well as not using any type of green plastic garbage back to cover it or put it in. those are all thins you have to be careful about. handling uncooked food such as dhiken and that, can you definitely cause issues with bacteria on your hands so those

are just things to remember. -- such as chicken and that. >> you can thaw in the microwave safely. when you thaw in the microwave, cook it immediately afterwards. the microwave will warm up some of that. >> i was not expecting cooking and thawing tip from you guys. >> plan ahead. that is the main thing. thank you for the question. if you want to have your question answered, go to myfoxdc.com and click on the weather tab. ather tab. >> i think this song was perfect just for julie wright. i think they were thinking of you have when they played this song. you were washing. >> i think so. and i don't care how you thaw, just call me when it's done. >> that is the main thing. >> i come equipped with my own

tupperware. i come equipped. northbound i-95, trouble here in lorton as you make your way north out of woodbridge. accident activity tying up the left side of the road. traffic flows again in springfield approaching 395. no accidents to report on the beltway between annandale and merrifield. 66, slow-moving traffic from business 234 headed eastbound out of centreville. traffic remains slow leaving 50 to 123. let's continue with our maps. we'll show you what else is happening out here on the highway. northbound on 295, a slow ride from the beltway he hadhood up to the naval research lab at about 4 mimps. earlier crash was inwound suitland parkway at route 5. stay to the left to get by. -- at about -- headed up to the and a half research lab at about 4 miles per hour. s per h that's a check of your fox 5 on-time traffic. you will still be able to drive a little bit fast ore a local toll road. starting next month, maryland

officials are raising the speed limit on the intercounty connector fro from 55 to 60. transportation officials made the decision after looking at the results of an engineering and crash study. the largest factually center in uso history is set for fillly open at fort belvoir today. the center will open as a home away from home for thousands of wounded troops and their families. -- is set to officially open at fort belvoir today. designs are say it was important to use warm colors and materials when building such as baby blues and stone. soldier say it means a lot to have a place to stay with their family during these difficult times. a local group of kids gearing up for a record-setting day. >> holly is helping them get started this morning. with check in with her live from the national geographic society coming up after the break. 

(woman) 3 days of walking to g give a breast cancer survir a a lifetime-- that's definitely a fair trade.. whoo! you walk with friends, you meet new friends, and you keep those friendships. it was such a beautiful experience. (woman) ♪ and it's beautiful ♪ undeniable (woman) why walk 60 miles in the boldest breast cancer event in history? because everyone deserves a lifetime. visit the3day.org to register or to request more information today.

♪ burning like a fire ♪ building up from deep inside it was 3 days of pure joy. susan g. komen's investments in early detection and treatment have helped reduce breast cancer mortality in the u.s. by 33% since 1990. help us continue serving the millions of women and men with breast cancer who still need us every day. register for the 3-day now. (woman) it's just been an amazing, amazing journey. i love these people. ♪ and it's beautiful

i just had to write. you can't imagine how long i've been searching for something like this for my family. i'm amazed you make so many great flavors that are gluten free. my guys are crazy for chocolate chex and honey nut chex. for me, it's cinnamon. it means a lot to be able to give them something that's good for them, that also puts smiles on their faces. 'cause i really love those smiles. we're the harris family. and we love chex. [ male announcer ] love chex? connect with us on facebook. 2/5/13 good morning, everybody. i'm holly morris. i don't know what your plans for this tuesday

are. we are live this morning with national geographic kids where they are planning on setting not one, but two world records. one has to do with shoes. one of the records they are trying to set is the largest collection of recycled shoes. we're going to talk about why they did this. how they went about doing it and we're not talking everyday shoes. some are from famous people. we're going to get the stories behind these shoes. there's another record and that has to do with running. it's the most people to run 100 meters in 24 hours. that's why i have my tennis shoes on this morning. we're going to be doing running. we have the adjudicator here this morning. how they go about verifying how it goes into the books and how it goes about setting a world record. not the first time by the way. they

already have five world records. after today, they are hoping to have 7 world records. it's indeed going to be a record setting day. >> they are the experts at setting records. quite the process i'm sure. thanks, holly. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> let's say good morning to today's fan of the day. it's michelle smith. been watching fox 5 since she was in high school and now she tunes in with her own little one. passing it on. >> have a great day michelle. >> that's a nice hat too. that's it for the 6. >> let's send it over to allison and tony. >> good morning to both of you. good to see you . coming up on fox 5 morning news. bringing the lombardi trophy home. >> fans will pack the streets to welcome the superbowl cio